Which box/DVD player/box of magic, offers the most range of streaming services,
NowTV, Netflix, Amazon and the catch up from the main channels.

As I am thinking of leaving Sky and getting NowTv, and thinking about getting a Roku box, but I see that Amazon doesn't work, and was wondering was a box to rule them all and offered all the services on one box?

Many thanks

Yup your laptop in seriousness though i think you can get a Android tv box which has all the services on, look around on Ebay they're about £50 upwards.

You can buy a desktop PC that will run all the streaming services, Sky GO, BBC iPlayer, plays DVDs and would also play back alternatively sourced files via VLC eg MP4s, MKVs etc
Stick it behind the TV, connect it via an HDMI lead and use a remote keyboard to control it or an Android tablet.
A new desktop costs from £150 on ebuyer.com
Plus allow for the cost of Windows 7 or use a free Linux OS such as Ubuntu, with Wine.

You could try the Roku Streaming Stick at £50 just to see if it’s to your liking.

I bought one the weekend, had problems linking to my router but I’ve got over that now and the device is working quite well.

It has many channels (some even in HD) that I’ve only just begun to try out but like I said at fifty quid you can’t go far wrong but like you said I've not seen Amazon either.

A RokuLT (or 3) would get my vote!

(Use em with my unotelly / playon setup! ... Nowt better!)

None of the Rokus or Android boxes stream Amazon, sadly. Rokus are brilliant for everything else though. Amazon introduced their own streaming box in the USA a few months ago. Hopefully, it will make its way over here eventually and have access to Netflix and catchup services as well.

In the meantime I use a 1st generation Kindle Fire HD tablet for Amazon. It's connected to the tv by hdmi. It only likes short leads so requires a Bluetooth keyboard to control it and doesn't show onscreen display stuff like subtitles on the tv, so not perfect by any means. Picture quality and streaming is excellent though.


We bought nettop PCs for two tvs 3 or 4 years ago. They're Atom based and Amazon, Netflix and iPlayer etc don't work very well at all. Neither PC can stream HD, despite one having a blu-ray drive which plays fine. Disappointing! Our cheap and cheerful Roku box does a much better job, is much quicker to boot up and doesn't want to do loads of updates every time it's switched on.

Roku 3 and Netflix,Now Tv etc for me, I also have an Xbox 360 which does have Amazon(I cancelled after free trial) and many other on demand services but no ITV player my Xbox is used for Eurosport player as it has the 3 hour rewind on it. No need for a gold account for streaming on the Xbox now however it can only stream Netflix etc in 720p (Microsoft restriction) and there is some fan noise.

Thanks for your responses.

Now the question is do I go for cheap and buy a NowTv box or spend a bit more cash and get a proper Roku box with channels I will only watch once if ever?

Get the ROKU i ended up upgrading from nowtv box to a ROKU1 atm maplin are price matching too so got mine for £49.99.
If you use it with a smart dns set up on your router set to usa you'll get the usa channels.
In uk you'll get the usual culprits plus loads more such as frightflix etc.

I use my Android tablet connected to my TV and get *everything* through that.

I've found Roku to be a good option. Netflix and NOW TV are covered as well as the catch up services. Just Amazon still missing. The LT is the least expensive model but the Roku 3 supports an ethernet connection if it makes a difference.

With the NOW TV box you get the NOW TV service and the catch up channels, but not Netflix (or Amazon Instant Video when it becomes more widely available) as Sky would rather people used NOW TV.

What about the Minix Neo x8?

http://www.futeko.com/browse.php?cat=featured

Has plenty of apps and lots more!

The upsides of using a laptop or Android box (like the Minix) is that it "technically" has the widest possible number of apps. But it does come at a downside, and that is a horrid UI for sofa-friendly TV (especially Android boxes) and also with Android in particular, video quality issues with many apps (some apps on Android only use very low quality streams because they expect the app to be on a small mobile screen).

As for proper STBs, they may have less apps that work on them, but they have a UI that is designed to be used when relaxing on the sofa. This turns it into a much more pleasant device to use. Of course, some people don't care about this, just as some people can not see the point in having a delicious restaurant dinner when they can perfectly feed themselves on a cold can of baked beans for a fraction of the price

Still, some STBs may have all the apps you could want. The Samsung F or H series Blu-Ray Player (F-6500 or higher at least) costs about the same as a highend Roku box (less than most Android boxes) and it will have almost, if not, all of the UK apps you may want.

BBC iPlayer, ITV Player, BBC Sport, Demand 5, STV Player, 4oD, Amazon Prime, Netflix, Wuaki TV and more. About the only thing it doesn't have yet is Now TV.

Then again, the Roku box has also almost everything above and has Now TV, with Amazon Prime not available yet.

Both have great user interfaces, and work really well.

I have considered getting the roku 3, as it, does, have netflix and you tube and I am behind on Homeland and may give Daredevil a try, but that is betwen £50 and £75, and I still need HDMI cable and ethernet on top of that, as, wifi, despite having broadband and a router box, does not work

the virgin man was stumped, when I unplugged the wire, and the pc, could not find the signal, he said older models of computer, don't always support WI FI connectivity, I think

Now TV does seem like a bargain, as it contains the box sets, and I need to catch up, with around a seasons worth of The Walking Dead, but will still need the ethernet cable for that though least it comes with a HDMI cable

Amazon is now on Roku
so on roku you have:
BBC Iplayer
ITV player
4 on demand ( or all 4 or whatever there calling themselves now)
5 on demand
Youtube
Netflix (subscription)
Now TV (subscription spearate subscripotions for Sky sports/Entertainment and Movies - pay monthly by recurring fee or buy a pass for a set period )
Amazon (subscription - amazon prime either monthly for video only or yearly for the full
prime service at £79/year or £59 a year when on offer - from this sunday- Wednesday)
Google play movies+video+music
Screen mirroring - show whats on your smartphone, tablet or PC on the TV via roku ( not supported on all roku devices - it works on the stick and probably the newer roku boxes)